The E-Sylum v7#23, June 6, 2004

[whomren at coinlibrary.com]

Welcome to The E-Sylum: Volume 7, Number 23, June 6, 2004:
an electronic publication of the Numismatic Bibliomania Society.
Copyright (c) 2004, The Numismatic Bibliomania Society.


EDITOR'S NOTE

   This week's E-Sylum is a day early due to business travel.
   I'll check my email later in the week - keep those replies and
   submissions coming!  Thanks.


"SCRIP POKER" AND THE LONGEST WAIT

   Today is the 60th anniversary of D-Day, the 6th of June,
   1944.  On that day, General Dwight D. Eisenhower issued a
   proclamation to the assembled Operation Overlord armada
   as it departed for the invasion of the beaches of Normandy,
   France. France was at the time occupied by Nazi forces and
   the collaborationist French Vichy government. The following
   are excepts from Eisenhower's short proclamation:

   "Soldiers, sailors and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary
   Forces!  You are about to embark upon the great crusade,
   toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes
   of the world are upon you, the hopes and prayers of liberty-
   loving people everywhere march with you.  In company with
   our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts you will
   bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the
   elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of
   Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world."

   "I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty, skill
   in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!"

   "Good luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God
   upon this great and noble undertaking."

   Gene Jannuzi of Beaver Falls, PA, a veteran of the invasion,
   wrote a remembrance in today's issue of the Pittsburgh
   Post-Gazette.   He calls the period leading up to Eisenhower's
   order "The Longest Wait".  He writes:

   "Among my memories of that English springtime before June 6,
   1944, one of the strongest is my recall of the strain of the long
   wait for the assault on the Nazi-held Normandy beaches of
   France."

   "D-Day at Normandy has been called, in novel and film, "The
   Longest Day."  The stretch of days from February to June 6,
   1944, I call "the longest wait."

   "During that part of the wait, the days passed swiftly. The troops
   boarded the ship on June 2. We held gas mask drills and church
   services -- Catholic, Protestant and Jewish. The troops passed
   their waiting time playing poker on a blanket on deck with scrip
   currency they had been issued for use on the far shore. We
   called it "scrip poker."

   "As we neared Point Zebra, my eyes were on the beach. German
   .88s sent up geysers of water and sand at the shoreline. I stopped
   engines and waited for a signal from the control vessel. It was the
   last wait. From the vessel came a one-word semaphore message:
   PROCEED.

   I looked at the commander and he nodded. I got my ship under
   way and headed toward the beach.

   "All engines ahead full," I said into the voice tube. "Steady as you
   go."

   To read the full article, see:
   http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04157/327197.stm

   The invasion was the beginning of the end of WWII in
   Europe.  The war generated the creation of thousands of
   different numismatic items which serve as reminders of the
   great conflict.   The 1995 book,  World War II Remembered,
   by Fred Schwan and Joseph Boling, is a comprehensive
   864-page catalog of WWII numismatics.   Fred Schwan's
   "MPC Gram" is an email newsletter for devotees of
   military numismatics.  An archive of past issues is located
   at http://www.papermoneyworld.net/grams/index.htm


KOLBE FORD I SALE RESULTS

   George Kolbe forwarded the following Press Release for
   Tuesday's landmark sale of the first part of the Ford
   library.  I couldn't be there in person, but participated by
   phone.  We'd love to hear some first-hand reports from
   attendees at the sale - please send us your thoughts for
   the next E-Sylum.

   "Numismatic literature history was made when the 1,000 lot
   first part of the John J. Ford, Jr. American Numismatic Library
   was sold at public auction on June 1, 2004 at The Mission Inn
   in Riverside, California. It was the most important auction of
   rare American numismatic literature ever held, and the first part
   alone brought substantially more, at 1.66 million dollars, than
   the four Armand Champa library sales (approximately 1 million
   dollars), or the five Harry Bass library sales (1.25 million
dollars).
   The pre-sale estimates totaled just under a million dollars, but
   63 registered floor bidders, 16 telephone bidders, and 150
   absentee bidders combined to produce a plethora of record
   prices across the board.

   The prior record for a single day auction of numismatic literature,
   worldwide, is under a half million dollars, setting the sale of the
   Ford library in a class by itself. The auction was held by Kolbe
   in association with Stack's, and a limited number of well
   illustrated catalogues, including a prices realized list, may still
be
   ordered by sending $35.00 to George Frederick Kolbe, Fine
   Numismatic Books, P. O. Drawer 3100, Crestline, CA 92325.

   A few sale highlights follow: Hiram Deats’ superb set of the
   first six volumes of The Numismatist, 1888-1993, estimated at
   $15,000, sold for $40,250;

   Adolphus Hart's 1851 History of the Issues of Paper Money in
   the American Colonies, one of only three copies known with the
   Historical Chart brought $34,500 on a $12,500 estimate;

   opening at $10,000, the original inventory of the legendary
   Waldo Newcomer Collection of American coins sold for
   $19,550;

   also opening at $10,000, the original F. C. C. Boyd appraisal
   and inventory of the massive coin collection formed by Col.
   E. H. R. Green brought $42,550 to an indefatigable telephone
   bidder;

   the most important assemblage of Chapman Brothers auction
   catalogues ever offered, including superb examples with original
   photographic plates, and many of the firm's unique Bid Books
   for their most important auctions, generally brought record prices;

   over twenty rare Thomas Elder auction catalogues with original
   photographic plates also sold very well;

   numerous Wayte Raymond catalogues with photographic plates
   and all four of the  firm's unique bid books of the monumental
   1920s W. W. C. Wilson sales were avidly sought after;

   important Americana, including a superb selection of early
   Western and other rare American Directories generally sold well
   above the estimates;

   two original copies of Attinelli’s 1876 Numisgraphics brought
   $4,025 and $6,325;

   a superb set of Milford Haven's classic work on Naval Medals
   realized $5,060; classic works on large cents, including deluxe
   editions and famous collectors’ copies were in great demand;

   rare publications on fractional currency and Confederate
   currency were likewise avidly sought after, including perhaps
   the finest example known of Thian’s Register of the Confederate
   Debt, one of only five issued, which sold for $35,650 on a
   $12,500 estimate;

   classic works and unique manuscripts on American colonial
   coins were in demand, and the Dr. Hall/Hays manuscript on
   Connecticut coppers realized $23,000;

   several Eckfeldt and Du Bois works featured actual samples
   of  California ‘49er gold and all sold for well over the estimates,
   particularly the 1842-1849 edition which brought $9,200 on a
   $3,500 estimate;

   Ed Frossard’s own set of his first 150 auction sale catalogues,
   handsomely bound in fifteen volumes, was one of the great
   highlights of the sale, opening for $6,000 on a $10,000 estimate,
   and ending up at $46,000;

   the 1861 private letter copy book of C. G. Memminger,
   Secretary of the Treasury of the Confederate States of America
   brought $24,150.

   Those interested in learning more about this landmark sale or in
   accessing the catalogue and prices realized list online may do so
   by visiting: www.numislit.com

   [note: all prices cited here, including the Champa and Bass library
   totals, include the buyer premium]"


"COIN OF COINS" ON DISPLAY IN JERUSALEM

   "Struck in Sicily in the mid-fifth century BCE, the unique
   Aitna tetradrachm is among the most splendid achievements
   of Greek art. This silver coin is rich with historical and
   iconographic significance, shedding light on the short-lived
   colony of Aitna and the symbols its inhabitants held dear.
   The masterwork of one of the finest die engravers of all
   times, the Aitna tetradrachm is also a coin of singular beauty,
   which has earned a place among the artistic wonders of the
   ancient world. The coin has not left the Bibliotheque royale
   in Brussels since its arrival there in 1899, and was only
   shown to scholars upon special request. Its exhibition at
   the Israel Museum, along with other coins attributed to the
   Aitna Master, constitutes its world premiere."

   On June 7, the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, is to reopen the
   Shrine of the Book, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  The
   museum's special exhibiti, "The Coin of Coins: A World
   Premiere," appears through Oct. 16.   Can any of our readers
   tell us more about the coin?   Has anyone seen it before?

   http://www.imj.org.il/calendar/innerpages/exh.asp?exh=current


ANA EXHIBIT DEADLINE APPROACHES

   Once again, I would like to reminder everyone of the
   June 21st deadline for exhibit applications for the upcoming
   American Numismatic Association convention in Pittsburgh.
   In 1991, the Numismatic Bibliomania Society raised and
   donated $3,000 to the ANA to establish the Numismatic
   Literature exhibit category and endow the Aaron Feldman
   Award , to be given each year to the top numismatic literature
   exhibit.  The award is named in honor of literature dealer
   Aaron Feldman, who has been credited with "coining" the
   phrase, "Buy the book before the coin."

   For a nice example of a numismatic literature exhibit, see
   http://www.coinbooks.org/club_nbs_exhibit_amsmith.html
   for photos and text of NBS President Pete Smith's winning
   exhibit from 1996, "The Challenging Literature of A. M. Smith"

   Exhibiting information and applications are available at the
   ANA web site:
   http://www.money.org/exhibitrules2004anniv.html

   Perhaps some new owners of material from the Ford
   library will come forward to share some of their treasures
   via an exhibit.


BUY THE BOOK BEFORE THE COIN

   Phil Dodson column in the June 3, 2004 issue of The Telegraph
   of Macon, GA, echoes Feldman's sentiment:

   "Several days ago, my wife, in her usually thoughtful manner,
   inquired as to why I was screaming at the television.

   Like a child drawn to fire, I had flipped the channel to one
   of those coin-sales programs where they unload grossly
   overpriced silver dollars, gold-plated states' quarters or
   inexpensive proof sets for five to 10 times or more their fair
   retail value.

   I was talking back to an ethically challenged shyster who was
   lying about how rare the overpriced pieces of junk he was
   selling were going to be. His message: Buy now and next year
   your coins will be much more valuable.

   He was hawking common, made-for-circulation quarters that
   the U.S. Mint cranks out by the millions that some enterprising
   yahoo had coated with one-one/hundredth of a millimeter of
   gold (and that's not very much gold). This exceedingly poor
   example of truth in advertising was explaining in all seriousness
   how these quarters, which won't be rare a thousand years from
   now, would be much harder to find and would cost much more
   this time next year.

   If his name were Pinocchio, his nose would have been about
   eight feet long at that point."

   "One thing I learned the hard way about coin collecting is that
   even experienced hobbyists can get burned.  Cautious collectors
   spend years learning the fine points of numismatics, and they
   usually develop fairly extensive libraries on the subject.

   The best advice I have ever heard for those interested in coin
   collecting is, "Buy the book before you buy the coin."
   Knowledge will save the collector a lot of grief.

   To read the full column, see:
   http://www.macon.com/mld/macon/news/opinion/8820865.htm


THE FICTIONALIZED HARVEY STACK

   David Gladfelter writes: "Readers of detective fiction among
   us will recognize Harvey Stack as the model for Linda
   Fairstein's numismatic character Bernard Stark in her novel
   The Kills (New York et al, Scribner, 2004) despite her standard
   disclaimer that "any resemblance to actual events or locales or
   persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental."

   The fictional Bernard, a minor character in the book, has the
   real Harvey's expertise but not his warm personality.  The
   story is woven around the Farouk specimen of the U.S. 1933
   double eagle, and others like it, following pretty closely the
   pattern of known facts with many tangled threads of intrigue
   filling in the historical gaps.  To be picky (and why not?), a
   partial image of a gold coin of St. Gaudens' obverse design
   is shown on the dust jacket, but the coin is not a 1930s $20
   piece but a modern look-alike $50 1-ounce bullion piece.
   The novel is a good read even for a non-numismatist (my wife)
   who finds most of numismatics strange and incomprehensible."


CASHLESS SOCIETY ARTICLE

   David Gladfelter adds: "Also in the non-numismatic press:
   Daniel Gross, "A Fare Exchange," U. S. Airways Attaché,
   June 2004, pages 13-14. This is a sentimental piece about
   the coming of the cashless society and the departure of coins
   and specifically, New York City transit tokens, five of which
   are illustrated in color."


NEW CLUB FOR COLLECTORS OF SO-CALLED DOLLARS

   Dick Johnson writes: "Sixty medal collectors throughout the
   country have already joined a club for those interested in
   collecting so-called dollars.  Jeffrey L. Shevlin of Carmichael,
   Calif. has launched the new specialized club, first meeting at
   the ANA National Money Show, March 27, in Portland,
   Oregon, where the first 23 charter members signed up.

   The So-Called Dollar Collectors Club planned to meet again
   at the Long Beach Show June 6th.  Further plans are underway
   for a meeting during the ANA Convention in Pittsburgh, August
   18 through 22 (date and time to be announced).

   Long considered somewhat of the collectible between coins
   and medals, so-called dollars are those struck items of
   silver-dollar size but bear no denomination. They became
   popular at expositions, particularly the American Centennial
   of 1876 in Philadelphia and the Columbian Exposition of
   1892-93 in Chicago.  The series was cataloged by Harold
   Hibler and Charles Kappen; in 1963 their catalog, "So-Called
   Dollars; An Illustrated Standard Catalog with Valuations" was
   published by The Coin and Currency Institute of New York
   City.

   In 1978 my partner, Chris Jensen, and I published a pamphlet
   "Current Valuations: A Price Supplement to So-Called Dollars,"
   bringing HK prices up to date. These were compiled by a
   panel of Chris, Joseph Levine and Hank Spangenberger, all
   well versed in market prices of the series. Later Chris and I
   bought all the remainders of the original book from Coin &
   Currency Institute. These copies have long since been sold
   and widely dispersed to collectors and numismatists interested
   in the series.

   Now 25 years later there is perhaps a demand for a revised
   catalog, and that is one of the goals of Jeff Shevlin and the
   new collectors' club.  Cost of a year's membership is $15 and
   collectors may write for an application blank, or send their
   check, name, mailing address, phone number and email
   address to:  So-Called Collectors Club, 7737 Fair Oaks
   Blvd, Suite 250, Carmichael, CA  95608."


THE NEVADA "FITZGERALD" HOARD

   The numismatic press has already covered Ron Gullio's
   recent purchase of a Nevada casino warehouse hoard
   of U.S. silver dollars and other material.  Here are a few
   excerpts from a June 3 Associated Press article about
   the find:

   "When coin dealer Ronald J. Gillio gazed in the musty
   warehouse on the outskirts of Reno last year, he could
   not believe his eyes: Inside were boxes and boxes of
   commemorative casino spoons, matches, key chains
   and coasters - gambling junk accumulated over decades.

   Locked in safes in the warehouse was what he really
   was after - bags and bags of silver dollars, more than
   100,000 in all. There were also thousands of casino
   chips in denominations from $1 to $100, old casino
   counting machines, a Seeburg jukebox and three
   vintage roulette wheels, including one with a rare
   single zero slot.

   Gillio, of Santa Barbara, Calif., bought it all - junk and
   treasure - for an undisclosed price. The property had
   been accumulated by the late Lincoln Fitzgerald, who
   at one time owned the Nevada Club in downtown
   Reno, the Nevada Lodge at Lake Tahoe and
   Fitzgeralds in Reno.

  Gillio dubbed the find "the Fitzgerald's hoard."

   "Some of the items were displayed in Las Vegas
   recently at an antique arms and coin show. Gillio
   figures the face value of the coins and chips is about
   $500,000.

   "It is amazing what some people keep," he said.
   "Things other people would throw away, Fitzgerald
   kept. I guess he had a sentimental attachment to them.
   It took us 60 days to clear out the warehouse."

   "In the Fitzgerald stash, he found empty bags from the
   Carson City Mint dating to the 1880s. While not
   particularly valuable, Gillio figures the bags and other
   gambling memorabilia have historical significance for
   Nevada.

   He plans to donate some items to the Nevada
   Historical Society in Reno and the Nevada State
   Museum in Carson City, which is in the same building
   that housed the mint."

   To read the full article, see the Las Vegas Sun web site:

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2004/jun/03/060310206.html



ANA MONEY MAIL DEBUTS

   Dave Perkins forwarded a copy of the introductory June, 2004
   issue of Money Mail, a new electronic newsletter from the
   American Numismatic Association.

   "We are pleased to bring you this introductory issue of the
   ANA's official e-newsletter. A free service for Association
   members and collectors of coins, tokens, medals and paper
   currency, Money Mail will keep you tuned in to what's going
   on in the hobby and your organization."

   The colorful, illustrated periodical is very nicely done, with
   short descriptions of organization news and links to more
   details on the official web site.  Under club news, this issue
   links to the history I wrote several years ago of the Western
   Pennsylvania Numismatic Society, one of the co-sponsor's
   of this summer's ANA convention.

   The newsletter is free and membership is not required.  To
   subscribe. write to:  moneymail at money.org


OCLC AND BANKING IN MAINE

   Michael J. Sullivan writes: "In response to Dave Bowers'
   inquiry to loan/borrow a copy of BANKING IN MAINE
   by A.H. Chadbourne ....my personal copy sold as part of my
   collection of over 800 bank histories sold by Currency
   Auctions of America, September 22-23, 2000.  The work
   originally appeared in THE MAINE BULLETIN (XXXIX,
   August,  1936).  It is included in my ANNOTATED
   BIBLIOGRAPHY OF U.S. STATE AND INDIVIDUAL
   BANK HISTORIES as item 365.  I am only aware of 2-3
   copies changing hands in the last 15 years.

   The most efficient way to borrow a copy is via OCLC or
   WORLDCAT.  This is a free service offered by public libraries
   to exchange books between public libraries and universities.
   I have borrowed hundreds of books using OCLC."


YALE CATALOG CORRECTION

   Bill Burd writes: "You do such a great job every week on
   The E-Sylum!!!!  I look forward to receiving it.

   As information, I have a copy of "Catalogue of the Greek and
   Roman Coins in the Numismatic Collection of Yale College"
   by Jonathan Edwards printed in 1880.  It is 236 pages long,
   not 23 as listed in the E-Sylum.   It was printed by the same
   company that did some of Woodward's auction catalogs.  It
   looks the same with its paper cover, same style printed
   heading, etc."


OLD WORLD COINS IN THE NEW WORLD

   In the American Numismatic Society's research mailing list,
   Cheryl Simani writes: "We are in need of assistance in a
   research project.  If anyone has information on “Old” World
   coins discovered in the “New” World, please contact me..

   I am a student in the History Department of the University
   of Houston.  Professor Frank Holt is my grant supervisor.
   The project is to document as many as possible of the more
   than 60 Greek, Roman, Jewish, and Islamic coins purportedly
   found predominately in the US.

   We need quality, digital images of both sides of the coins
   e-mailed in a JPEG file.  In a Word-document, please provide
   a brief description of the circumstance of the find, including
   names and contact information."

   [If you'd like to get in touch with Cheryl Simani, I will forward
   messages to her. -Editor]


HOFMANN BOOK: THE POET AND THE MURDERER

   John Eshbach writes: "Another book about Mark Hofmann,
   by Simon Worrall, titled "The Poet and the Murderer," Penguin
   Books (ISBN 0-525-94596-20.    The book relates the story
   of a forged Emily Dickinson poem bought at a Sotheby's May
   1997 auction by the Jones Library in Amherst, MA.  A modern
   day who-done-it about the poem's provenance."

   Ralf W. Bopple of Stuttgart, Germany also noted the omission.
   He writes: "Did I miss something, or was the book 'The Poet
   and the Murderer' by Simon Worrall (2002) not mentioned
   in the discussion of books on Mark Hofmann?  If not, this seems
   a little odd to me, because it was discussed in an earlier E-Sylum
   issue. Maybe it was missed because the connection there is not
   related to coins, but rather to Hofmann's falsifications of Emily
   Dickinson handwritings.  While I immediately bought the book
   due to its link to Amherst / Massachusetts, hometown of my
   alma mater UMass, I can recommend it to anybody for the
   insight it provides into the world of counterfeiting of
collectibles."

   David F. Fanning also points this book out: "Meant to note
   last week, but here's another Hofmann book:

   "The Poet and the Murderer: A True Story of Literary Crime
   and the Art of Forgery," by Simon Worrall (New York: Dutton,
   2002).

   It's written in that awful style of crime thrillers, but it's worth
   noting for its emphasis on Hofmann's forgery of an Emily
   Dickenson poem (actually--and this makes it all the more
   interesting--Hofmann had the audacity to not simply fake a
   manuscript of a known poem, but to write the poem himself
   in her style).

   The Salamander book (previously mentioned by someone else)
   is by far the best I've read on Hofmann, though it's still rather
   lurid for those of us more used to reading about coins.

   Have any E-Sylum subscribers attempted to correspond with
   Hofmann?"

   [Well, Hofmann has tried to correspond with one numismatic
    bibliophile, Armand Champa.  In his library Champ had a
   letter from Hofmann who'd written him about purchasing a
   coin, perhaps as fodder for one of his counterfeiting schemes.

   The controversy over publishing Larson's book on numismatic
   forgery, and David's note of the lurid aspects of the Salamander
   book remind me of my horror to find in print, in the transcripts
   of Mark Hofmann's jury trial, detailed information on how he
   made the pipe bombs that killed his unsuspecting victims.
   -Editor]


HUDSON'S BAY MADE BEAVER TOKENS

   The particular numismatic item I had in mind for last week's
   QUICK QUIZ  was the Hudson Bay Company's Made
   Beaver tokens.  Jess Gaylor was the first to guess the
   answer.  But there were several possible answers, as
   David Gladfelter points out: "Not sure what specific
   numismatic item HBC is known for. The late Larry Gingras,
   fellow of the Royal Numismatic and Canadian Numismatic
   Research Societies, published a 117-page study, Medals,
   Tokens and Paper Money of the Hudson's Bay Company,
   in 1975, which lists a large variety of these items, almost all
   from the 19th and early 20th centuries."

   From the Currency Museum of the Bank of Canada web site:

   "In 1670 Charles II of Britain granted a charter to the "Governor
   and Company of Adventurers of England Tradeing [sic] into
   Hudson's Bay" giving the company absolute control over the
   territory drained by the rivers flowing into Hudson Bay. This
   charter marked the founding of the Hudson's Bay Company, a
   venture that was to figure importantly in the history of Canada
   and the fur trade.

   Initially, trading posts were built in the Hudson Bay region,
   but by 1821 the powerful trading company had extended its
   interests all the way to the Pacific coast. Most of the furs traded
   at these posts were trapped by Aboriginals who bartered the
   pelts for goods at Company stores. In order to facilitate this
   exchange, the "made beaver" - the value of a prime beaver
   pelt-was established as the unit of account. When a trapper
   brought his furs to the trading post he would receive in return a
   pile of tokens valued in made beavers.  He was then able to
   select goods from the Company store until his supply of tokens
   was exhausted.

   Before metal tokens came into use, locally produced tokens
   of ivory, stone, bone and wood were used at some Hudson's
   Bay Company posts. The brass token is the size of a Canadian
   25-cent piece and is one of a set of four denominations valued
   at 1, 1/2 and 1/8 made beaver.  These tokens, which were
   used in the East Main District east and south of Hudson Bay,
   do not bear a date but were struck sometime after 1857. The
   letters on the token have the following meanings: HB (Hudson
   Bay), EM (East Main), NB (made beaver) - the N is a
   die-cutter's error for M. This token is part of the National
   Currency Collection, Bank of Canada."
   http://collections.ic.gc.ca/bank/english/ejan82.htm

   See also the Hudson's Bay company web site:
   http://www.hbc.com/hbc/e_hi/historic_hbc/Standard_trades.htm

   The web site describes the company's "amazing archives":
   "In London, England, during Hudson's Bay Company's 1928
   Annual Meeting Governor Charles Sale announced the
   establishment of an Archives Department. He told the
   shareholders "We have, as you probably know, an immense
   collection of records relating to the earliest days of our history;
   to the wars and fighting; to the explorations by land and sea;
   to the customs and life of the Indians and Eskimo; to the
   struggle for the occupation of the Pacific Coast; to the peaceful
   retention of the Great West; and finally, to the general conduct
   of the Company and its affairs during the two centuries in which
   it was responsible for the government of the territory of Rupert's
   Land."

   "The Hudson's Bay Company Archives were opened to
   students of history in May, 1931. The records were moved to
   Canada in 1974 and placed on long term loan with the Provincial
   Archives of Manitoba. The Provincial Archives would become
   the permanent home of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives on
   January 27, 1994 through donation."

   http://www.hbc.com/hbc/e_hi/historic_hbc/archives1.htm


COLORADO GOLD RUSH LEGACY

   On May 29, The Rocky Mountain News in Denver
   published and interesting story about the Cripple Creek
   and Victor Gold Mining Co.

   "In a dimly lit room the size of a living room, a thick graphite
   caldron sits atop a blazing furnace.

   It cooks gold. About 850 ounces daily, worth approximately
   $300,000.

   It belongs to the Cripple Creek and Victor Gold Mining Co. -
   the last remaining miners from the area's gold rush that began
   more than 100 years ago.

   The company will pour its 2 millionth ounce of gold from the
   Cresson mine and celebrate its 10th anniversary June 10."

   "Spread out over more than 4,000 acres, Cresson is a hard
   mine to work, most observers say.

   Most of its rich ore was pulled out by miners a hundred years
   ago. What remains are faint, almost invisible, traces of gold
   in hard rock.

   It's estimated 3.97 million ounces in reserves will be mined
   through 2012.

   "The old-timers got all higher-grade ore from Cresson,"
   Hampton explained. "We are sort of mining the halo around it."

   Some 320 full-time workers and about 40 contractors work
   round-the-clock shifts at the mine."

   "To the uninitiated, the Cresson mine in Teller County west of
   Colorado Springs might resemble a moonscape: a barren,
   rocky surface scarred with holes from underground mine
   shafts dug during the early 1890s.

   It started when Bob Womack, originally from Kentucky,
   discovered a gold vein in the area - then called Poverty
   Gulch - in 1891. One of the richest gold finds in America,
   it triggered a gold rush in Colorado that lasted for many
   decades.

   "Free gold sticks out of the rock like raisins out of a
   fruitcake," a local newspaper reported."

   To read the full story, see:

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/business/article/0,1299,DRMN_4_2923932,00.html

   See also the American Numismatic Association online exhibit
   of Colorado Pioneer gold coins from the earlier 1860's
   gold rush:
   http://www.money.org/cg/territorial.html


ABOLISH THE CENT, YOU MEAN

   Tom Fort sent us the following article by William Safire titled
   "Abolish the Penny", which was published in the June 2 issue
   of The New York Times.  He writes:  "Here is something for
   The E-Sylum. It has been discussed many times before, but
   as long as there is a congressional delegation from Illinois it
   will never happen."  Arthur Shippee forwarded it to us a well.
   Here's an excerpt:

   "The time has come to abolish the outdated, almost
   worthless, bothersome and wasteful penny. Even President
   Lincoln, who distrusted the notion of paper money because
   he thought he would have to sign each greenback, would be
   ashamed to have his face on this specious specie.

   That's because you can't buy anything with a penny any
   more. Penny candy? Not for sale at the five-and-dime
   (which is now a "dollar store"). Penny-ante poker? Pass
   the buck.  Any vending machine? Put a penny in and it will
   sound an alarm.

   There is no escaping economic history: it takes nearly a
   dime today to buy what a penny bought back in 1950.
   Despite this, the U.S. Mint keeps churning out a billion
   pennies a month.

   Where do they go? Two-thirds of them immediately drop
   out of circulation, into piggy banks or - as The Times's
   John Tierney noted five years ago - behind chair cushions
   or at the back of sock drawers next to your old tin-foil ball.
   Quarters and dimes circulate; pennies disappear because
   they are literally more trouble than they are worth. "

   To read the full article, see:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/02/opinion/02SAFI.html?ex=1087182003&ei=1&en=a6bb6dcfb10760d6



THE LATEST STUPID COUNTERFEITERS

   "News of the Weird" brings us another installment in the
   "Stupid Counterfeiters" vein:  ""John Parker and Rick
   Owens were arrested in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart
   in Athens, Texas, in April, after they were allegedly spotted
   by several people sitting in their car carefully cutting out
   individual counterfeit bills from larger sheet they had just
   printed."

   [I understand cutting notes out of sheets of GENUINE
   uncut U.S. notes was a pastime of some collectors years
   ago.  They loved to see the looks on the faces of waiters
   and shopkeepers, but as word of the practice got back
   to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, sales of the
   uncut sheets to the public were stopped, never to resume
   for decades.    Can anyone corroborate this story?
   Has anyone ever tried it?  -Editor]


FEATURED WEB SITE

   This week's featured web site is all about WWII Philippine
   numismatics.  "The purpose of this site is to illustrate the
   indominable will of the human spirit, and to show the many
   sides of conflict.  This will be accomplished through the use
   of the currency which was made for use during, and
   immediately following, WWII in the Philippines.  The
   Guerrilla money, which is the main focus of this web site,
   was accepted out of both national pride as much as necessity.
   To be caught by the Japanese with this money was often
   punishable by public execution."

      http://www.softcom.net/users/jmarcum/


  Wayne Homren
  Numismatic Bibliomania Society


  The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a
  non-profit organization promoting numismatic
  literature.   For more information please see
  our web site at http://www.coinbooks.org/
  There is a membership application available on
  the web site.  To join, print the application and
  return it with your check to the address printed
  on the application. For those without web access,
  write to W. David Perkins, NBS Secretary-Treasurer,
  P.O. Box 212, Mequon, WI  53092-0212.

  For Asylum mailing address changes and other
  membership questions, contact David at this email
  address: wdperki at attglobal.net

  To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum,
  just Reply to this message, or write to the Editor
  at this address: whomren at coinlibrary.com

   (To be removed from the E-Sylum mailing list
   send an email message with the word "Unsubscribe"
   in the body of the message to: esylum-request at binhost.com)